Sign



J. w SNELL Filed Feb. 21, 1934 1 2g- Jos ph vi fsnezl,

(IA/W Patented July 21, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIGN a corporation Application February 21, 1934, Serial No. 712,387

Claims.

This invention relates to signs, preferably of sheet metal, built up of assembled elements, which I call character members, which have their meeting side edges interlocked and which are bounded and reinforced on all four sides.

Any desired sign, suitable for use as oflice and desk signs, street, window, house or store signs or the like, can be built up, in accordance with the present invention, in a short time and at a slight expense. If desired, double signs, carrying characters on both sides, can be made.

In the accompanying drawing, 1

Fig. l is a front view of a completed sign.

Fig. 2 is a section of a double sign, taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a plurality of interlocked character members.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the binding strips. v

Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the corner pieces. r I

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the pressed or flattened portions of the seams to interlock the character members against movement longitudinally of the members.

Each of the character members I has one side edge 2' curled over rearwardly, and its other side edge first bent back at right angles, as at 3, then outwardly parallel to its face, as at 4, and finally curled over inwardly, as at 5, so as to form a kind of hook which engages around the curled edge 2 of the adjacent member. These interlocked edges are or may be pressed down as shown at l2 in Fig. 6 so as to render the assemblage permanent, if desired; and the form of interlock is such that the faces of the members all lie in the same plane.

It will be obvious that the faces of the members may bear any kind of character or be left blank, for example, to separate words. At the ends of the assemblage, narrower blank members 8 are interlocked with the end character members.

Now the rounded U-shaped binding strips 9, see Fig. 4, are slipped over the top and bottom edges of the assembled members and similar strips ID are slipped over the outer side edges of the members 8. Pressure may be applied to clamp these strips firmly in position. Then the corner pieces H, see Fig. 5, are placed over the meeting ends of the strips 9 and I0. These pieces are U- shaped in cross section and are pressed on to bind the assemblage into a unitary rigid structure.

When or if a double sign is desired, two rows of character members placed back to back are used, with the interlocked seams of one row, preferably staggered with respect to those of the other row, as appears in Fig. 2. Binding strips 9 and I0 and corner pieces ll, of sufficient dimensions, naturally, to accommodate the two rows, complete the sign, as before described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A built-up sign, comprising two rows of character members placed back to back, the members of each row having their side edges interlocked by seams, the seams of one row being staggered relatively to those of theother row, a continuous binding strip on each of the four sides of the assembled members, and integral corner pieces pressed over the meeting ends of said strips.

2. In a sign, two rows of charactermembers placed back to back in spaced relation, means to interlock the adjacent side edges of adjacent members, the interlocking means of one row of members engaging the rear faces of the members of the other row so that the rows mutually brace one another, binding strips on each of the four sides of the rows of members extending across the space between the rows, and corner pieces disposed over the meeting ends of said strips.

3. In a sign, two rows of character members placed back to back in spaced relation, means to connect the adjacent side edges of adjacent members, the connecting means of one row of members engaging the rear faces of the members of the other row so that the rows mutually brace one another, binding strips on each of the four sides of the rows of members extending across the space between the rows, and corner pieces disposed over the meeting ends of said strips.

4. In a sign, two rows of character members placed back to back in spaced relation, means to connect the adjacent side edges of adjacent members, the connecting means of one row of members engaging the rear faces of the members of the other row so that the rows mutually brace one another, and a finishing frame for the two rows connected thereto and extending across the space between the rows.'

5. In a sign, a plurality of character members, interlocked seams between the adjacent side edges of adjacent members to hold said members against separating movement transversely of the members while enabling the members to be interengaged by relative sliding movement longitudinally of the members, the seams having pressed portions so as to permanently interlock same against movement longitudinally of the members, solely by the pressed portions.

JOSEPH W. SNELL. 

